How to Crush a Sports Management Interview

Ok, you’ve obtained that all-important degree. Your resume has been polished to perfection, and you’ve bought the appropriate business attire. Now the wait begins. When that fateful phone call, asking you to come in for an interview, does arrive, remain calm. Keep your voice steady and be poised

After you’ve hung up, you can take a moment to pat yourself on the back, but just for a moment. This is where the hard work actually begins. If you want to nail your job interview, thenyou must be prepared.

Be Ready to Prove Your Stuff

While grade point averages and extracurriculars have their place, they are not what will get you hired by the sports industry. Your skills are.

Before every sports management interview, ask yourself – “How can I improve this person/organization/business?”

If you can’t provide an answer, you might as well cancel the interview. While this sounds harsh, it is the truth.

The sports industry is a results oriented one, and prospective employers want to ensure that your talent can be converted into results. Know what your skills are and what you have to bring to the table. Put yourself on the other side of the interviewer’s desk.

If you were interviewing a candidate for a position, wouldn’t you want to ensure that they can deliver? When you can put yourself in the mindset of a hiring manager, you’ll discover that the interview processor will become much simpler.

Be Prepared for the Sports Quiz

It seems like common sense that a person who wants to work in the sports industry would have a knowledge of sports. However, you would be surprised at the number of prospective candidates who don’t possess any true knowledge or care of sports

Enter the sports quiz.

The sports quiz is usually only administered during entry level jobs, but most individuals who enter sports management will begin by working in an entry level position and working their way up the proverbial ladder.

You don’t have to know the personal stats for every Heisman Trophy winner for the last ten years, but you do need to know what you are talking about.

Know how to calculate basic information, like earned run average (ERA) or wins above replacement (WAR).

If you are interviewing to work with a specific organization or team, ensure that you know their history backwards and forwards (e.g. awards on, most successful managers/coaches, etc.). There is importance in the details.

Having a working knowledge of other sports besides hockey, baseball, basketball, and football. While most jobs will be associated with the “big 4”, there are also a plethora of positions available with lesser known organizations like golf, tennis, or Olympic events.

You don’t have to answer every question correctly on a sports quiz in order to be hired, so don’t worry too much. Try not to overthink it. In the hiring process, the sports quiz should be thought of as simply another data point.

Expect the sports quiz to be conducted early on in the interview process. It is a means to weed out poor candidates, not to qualify potential hires.

The Importance of Body Language

Knowing how to answer difficult interview questions is only half of the equation. Equally as important is how you deliver them. During your interview, you need to avoid engaging in distracting mannerisms, such as:

Slumping down in your chair or appearing to be “too” comfortable

Repeatedly crossing and uncrossing your legs

Placing your hands on your hips

Leaning forward or invading the interviewer’s personal space

“Picking at” your nails, skin, or hair

Swiveling on your chair (if it is a swivel style chair)

Jiggling your leg(s)

An interviewer will make assumptions and judgements about you based upon your body language. Be mindful of this.

Here is what you should do:

Give the interviewer(s) a firm handshake Listen for their names, remember them, and use them